Retribution
by Nukular Winter
Summary: 6th year, one-shot. Karma catches up with Draco.


Author's Note: This is just a plot bunny that I got while reading a thread about unusual pairings. If you're a Draco fan, you're not going to like this one at all (implied squickiness).

* * *

Theodore Nott waited silently in a corner of the darkened hallway.

After several minutes he heard the sound of muffled footsteps approaching, then saw the dark countenance of Blaise Zabini as he rounded the corner, walking swiftly through the dank passage. He allowed him to get close before speaking.

"Well?" he asked. Slytherins, as a rule, did not waste time with pleasantries.

"He's laid up in the Hospital Wing, probably until tomorrow morning. Crabbe and Goyle got the worst of it, though" Zabini informed him in an undertone. Voices tended to echo in the dungeons, and neither boy wanted this conversation overheard.

Draco Malfoy had been at Hogwarts for less than 48 hours before he had decided to confront Harry Potter, loudly demanding satisfaction for his father's arrest and subsequent humiliation. It was whispered that Malfoy had received training in the Dark Arts over summer hols; the lessons had apparently gone straight to his head.

"What happened?"

"The stupid pillock challenged Potter to a duel in the middle of the corridor on the third floor. A _duel_." snorted Zabini. A good Slytherin would take revenge on the sly, maximizing deniability and minimizing retribution. Overt displays of aggression were strictly the forte of Gryffindors and their ilk. "He had Crabbe and Goyle sneaking up on Potter from the other direction; it might have worked, but they didn't have time to try anything. Potter knocked Malfoy out with a single spell, and then a couple dozen students came running out of a classroom and hexed Crabbe and Goyle right into the ground. They're out of commission for a few days, at least."

"The third floor? There aren't any classrooms up that way" mused Nott. Interesting. This would require investigation… later. At the moment, he had other business to attend to.

"What's our play?" asked Zabini.

"We go ahead with the plan. There's no way to tell when we'll have another chance." Draco Malfoy hadn't been this exposed since he'd come to Hogwart's. Crabbe and Goyle were indisputably stupid, but nonetheless were extremely effective bodyguards.

"Agreed. I'll see you after curfew."

At that, the two Slytherins departed, moving off in opposite directions.

* * *

Moonlight streamed through the window of the Hogwart's infirmary, playing across the beds and highlighting the sleeping form of one Draco Malfoy. Draco possessed a nervous disposition, which he had always carefully hidden behind his bluster and swagger. Nevertheless, he was an extremely light sleeper. The whisper of cloth on tile was enough to rouse him from sleep.

"Who's there?" he asked into the darkness, sitting up in the narrow bed.

Hearing no answer, Draco felt the first stirrings of unease settle like lead into his stomach. Something was very wrong. From the corner of his eye, he spotted his wand resting on the table adjacent to the uncomfortable bed. McGonagall, the bitch, had tried to confiscate it after the incident with Potter earlier, but Professor Snape had swooped in and allowed him to keep it. In an instant, Draco twisted and lunged for the scrap of wood. His fingers had barely touched it when he heard a murmured _Stupefy_ and his world went black.

* * *

"_Ennervate."_

Draco woke with his hands bound above him, the rough bark of a tree against his wrists and the prickling of small stones and twigs under his feet. His nostrils flared and he breathed in the heavy scent of vegetation. He was in the Forbidden Forest. Not Good. He shivered as the night air encroached on his bared skin. Where were his clothes? What was going on?

A figure moved into Draco's field of vision. He tried to look into his tormentor's face, but it was obscured by heavy folds of robe.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "When my father hears about this…" Draco began, only to be interrupted by mocking laughter from his captor.

"Your father can't help you this time, Draco. No one can." With this, the dark figure moved a few feet away and sat down on a convenient stump.

Draco's feeling of dread intensified, as his shivering became constant. Merlin it was cold tonight.

If he was going to survive this, Draco knew he was going to have to think fast. "Why are y-you doing this?" he asked in a plaintive tone, hoping his captor would start talking. He needed a plan, anything was better than the ignominy of dying of exposure in the Hogwart's forest. Draco also knew that he had crossed more than a few people in his life, and hoped that the dark figure would give away some clue to his identity.

The figure remained impassive, pulling back his sleeve to consult the timepiece on his wrist.

"Please! I have money. Let me go." Draco thought he was laying it on a bit thick, but his desperation was becoming tangible.

"You're a disgrace, do you even realize that?" the figure said, almost conversationally. "The heir-apparent of the House of Malfoy, and just look at you." He sneered.

Draco's mind worked frantically.

"You and your pathetic father, both. Crawling on your stomach so you can kiss a half-blood's feet. Both of you are no better than slaves. You've even let him brand you, like cattle." he indicated the mark that was clearly visible on the blond boy's forearm. "And the way you prance about the school, challenging Potter and declaring your allegiance to the Dark Lord. Tell me, have you ever beaten Potter at anything?" He paused, then continued "I thought not. You're ridiculous and embarrassing. You've managed to single-handedly paint the entire house as evil, and you're going to get the rest of us killed when the fight comes. You wouldn't know subtlety and cunning if they reached up and bit you on your lily-white arse."

Despite the cold, Draco flushed at the insults. Deciding for the first time in his life that discretion was the better part of valor, Draco refrained from retorting, instead trying to digest what he had been told. This was obviously a Slytherin, probably in his year, too. Too big to be Zabini…

Draco spoke a single word "Nott." It was not a question. His feeling of dread intensified into the first stage of panic. Part of him had been holding out hope that this was a prank by the Gryffindors, maybe Weasley, although he admitted that this wasn't Weasley's style. Weasley's style was to try to punch him in front of the entire school. Merlin knows Draco had done much to earn their antagonism, particularly the Weasel, but their stupid honor would have at least insured that Draco survived the night. This was not good. Nott was a Slytherin, and would never be so careless as to leave witnesses. This was looking very not good.

"So what's it to be? Killing Curse? Or are you going to let me freeze to death, tied to a God-damned tree? Or maybe now that you've seen my 'Lily-white arse' you've decided you'd like to bugger me first. I'd have never pegged you for a bloody poofter, Nott." Gone was mournful little boy. Draco thought that if he could provoke him, he might make a mistake. Any mistake.

Nott lowered his hood and smirked at his blonde captive. "Not quite. We've got something a little more interesting in mind."

"We? Oh, of course. I should have known you couldn't have come up with this all by yourself. So where's Zabini?" Draco's heart hammered in his chest as he desperately tried to think of a way out of the situation.

"He'll be along presently, shouldn't be more than…" Nott glanced at his watch again "Five, ten minutes, tops." Sliding his sleeve back into place, Nott reached into a large pocket on the front of his robe and withdrew a beaker of fluid. Approaching the bound boy, Nott drew out the stopper.

"What is that? What are you doing!" Draco couldn't quite keep the fear out of his voice. He was familiar with dozens of poisons that could make the remainder of his life (however brief it was beginning to look) distinctly unpleasant.

Nott's smirk increased as he circled, pouring out the beaker onto the now struggling form of his captive.

Draco braced himself for the inevitable, excruciating pain. It didn't come. The liquid was cold and slightly viscous, he noted as it ran down his face, plastering his once-perfect hair to his head. As Nott continued to cover Draco in whatever it was, the smaller boy took a cautious breath. The pervasive musk overpowered his senses, strong enough to make his eyes water.

"What IS that?"

Nott ignored him. When the flask was finally empty, Nott vanished it with a flick of his wand.

"What IS this? What have you done to me?"

"If you had paid attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts, you'd probably know that Giants rut in the fall." Nott began.

Draco was puzzled by the apparent non-sequitor. "What in the bloody hell are you on about?" he interrupted.

Unfazed by the outburst, Nott continued. "During mating season, Giants go into a frenzy. They've been known to destroy entire forests."

"There aren't any giants, besides that stupid oaf Hagrid, within a thousand kilometers of here. And WHAT THE HELL IS ALL OVER ME?" Part of Draco's mind noted idly that the goop was helping to keep him warm, at any rate.

Nott's smirk increased. "Estrus from a giantess in heat. It's quite expensive, you should be flattered." To say that that particular substance was easy to collect was like saying Cruciatus was an overpowered tickling charm.

"Gross. GROSS! I don't know what you're playing at, but this is…" Draco stopped mid-rant, as he felt the first vibration through the bonds holding his hands together. He felt another, slightly stronger rumble through his feet. The tree he was tied to began to sway.

A hooded figure came crashing through the underbrush, skidding to a stop.

Nott turned to the newcomer. "It's coming?" the winded teen nodded in response. The vibrations were getting closer. Turning back to Draco, Nott said "You might be interested to know that Hagrid's brother has been living in the forest since last fall. I think you're about to meet him." With that, Nott and Zabini headed off into the forest.

Draco was speechless. Surely they didn't mean… he turned wildly, screaming "Wait! Please! I'm sorry! You can't leave me here…"

Nott paused, "Goodbye, Draco."

_Finis_


End file.
